KBUY RADIO

9th Judicial District attorney, Republican Matt Chandler, has announced he will run for New Mexico attorney general.  The 34 year old Chandler is in his second term representing Curry and Roosevelt counties.  Chandler has been critical of   for not doing more to root out public corruption in the state.   Current attorney general gary King has not announced whether he will seek.  King was first elected New Mexico attorney general in 2006. His father, Bruce King, was a three-time governor of the state.

nominating petitions for the June 1 primary must be filed by Feb. 9.

U .S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today joined in introducing legislation that would help New Mexico and all other states pay for the increased costs of providing health care. At Bingaman’s urging, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included approximately $630 million in additional funding for New Mexico to help defray the costs of Medicaid.  The legislation would ensure that New Mexico receives approximately $100 million in additional funding for Medicaid to bring it through the end of fiscal year 2011.

USDA RURAL DEVELOMENT STATE DIRECTOR TERRY BRUNNER WILL BE IN RUIDOSO THRUSDAY, FEBRUARY 11^TH. HE WILL BE HERE TO PRESENT A CHECK TO MARK THE OBLIGATION OF A DISTANCE LEARNING TELEMEDICINE GRANT TO THE REGION IX EDUCATION COOPERATIVE. THE EVENT WILL BE HELD AT 3PM AT REGION IX EDUCATION COOPERATIVE IN THE HORTON COMPLEX. THE CHECK PRESENTATION WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR LAST WEEK BUT WAS CANCELED DUE TO HEAVY SNOWS.

CONGRESSMAN HARRY TEAGUE UNVEILED NEW LEGISLATION AIMED AT IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS. THE ENERGY JOBS FOR VETERANS ACT SEEKS TO ESTABLISH PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, APPRENTICESHIP, REAL EXPERIENCE AND LONG-TERM EMPLOYMENT IN THE ENERGY FIELDS FOR VETERANS. FUNDED BY COMPETITIVE GRANTS, THE PROGRAM WOULD PROVIDE AN ENERGY EMPLOYER UP TO 50%, OR UP TO $20,000, OF A VETERANS SALARY FOR A YEAR OF APPRENTICESHIP AND ON THE JOB TRAINING. THE PROGRAM WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYERS ACROSS MULTIPLE ENERGY FIELDS, INCLUDING ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING, CONSTRUCTION AND RETROFITS, RENEWABLE ELECTRIC POWER, BIOFUEL PRODUCTION, ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT, OIL AND GAS AND NUCLEAR POWER. THE LATEST SURVEY OF VETERANS UNEMPLOYMENT BY THE DEPT OF LABOR SHOWS THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS IS NOW ALMOSST THE SAME AS THE NUMBER OF SERVICE MEMBERS CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF THOSE TWO WARS WITH AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 11.3%.

THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW MEXICO WORKFORCE CONNECTION CENTERS, IS PROVIDING JOB SEEKERS ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL CHOICES CAREER INFORMATION DELIVERY SYSTEM, SIMPLY CALLED CHOICES. CHOICES PROVIDES CAREER GUIDANCE ON MANY ASPECTS OF JOB SEARCH AND CAREER PLANNING ACTIVITIES BY UTILIZING COMPREHENSIVE COMPUTER FILES SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED FOR NEW MEXICO. JOB SEEKERS CAN USE THE SOFTWARE TO IDENTIFY TYPES OF JOBS THAT BEST FIT INDIVIDUAL SKILLS AND INTERESTS, RESEARCH THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL OUTLOOK AND EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THESE JOBS. THE SYSTEM ALSO LISTS LOCAL EMPLOYERS THAT HIRE WORKERS IN SPECIFIC OCCUPATIONS. TO LEARN MORE, JUST GO THE DEPT OF WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS WEB SITE.

THE GOVERNOR HAS ANNOUNCED THAT ALL NEW MEXICO STATE PARKS WILL REMAIN OPEN DURING THE REMAINDER OF STATE EMPLOYEE FURLOUGH DAYS. HE MADE THE CHANGE AFTER RECEIVING DOZENS OF REQUESTS FORM NEW MEXICO RESIDENTS, LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AND BUSINESSES ASKING TO KEEP PARKS OPEN BECAUSE OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT CLOSURES COULD HAVE ON LOCAL ECONOMIES. LISTENING TO CONSTITUENT CONCERNS, RICHARDSON WORKED WITH STATE PARKS AND THE STATE PERSONNEL OFFICE TO COME UP THE PLAN THAT WILL STILL REQUIRE STATE PARK EMPLOYEES TO TAKE THREE REMAINING FURLOUGH DAYS. THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE NEEDED TO WORK TO KEEP PARKS OPEN ON DESIGNATED FURLOUGH DAYS, WILL BE REQUIRED TO TAKE ALTERNATE FURLOUGH DAYS.

THE NEW MEXICO ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED THAT THE YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS AWARDED 32 GRANTS TO PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE STATE IN THE AMOUNT OF $.31 MILLION. THE GRANTS CREATE APPROXIMATELY 650 JOBS FOR UNEMPLOYED NEW MEXICO RESIDENTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF FOURTEEN AND TWENTY FIVE YEARS WHO ARE IN-SCHOOL OR OUT OF-SCHOOL FOR SUMMER AND SEASONAL PROJECTS. SINCE 1992, OVER 8,900 YOUTH BETWEEN THE AGES OF FOURTEEN AND TWENTY FIVE HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED IN 601 PROJECTS. THE YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS SERVES NEW MEXICO YOUTH AND COMMUNITIES WITH A COMMITMENT TO YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION, COMMUNITY SERVICE AND EDUCATION.